Political Fasting in 2011

In contemporary society, hunger striking is more widespread than ever before. Virtually every day in the news, there are a number of individuals or organizations that are undertaking a hunger strike in the quest for political or social justice.

Using 2011 as an example, there were frequently hunger strikes throughout the year, with some groups engaging in multiple fasts. For example, in late September 2011, prisoners in jails across Israel launched a hunger strike to protest harsh prison conditions, in particular the practice of extended solitary confinement (Ma’an News, 2011).

In 2011, inmates throughout California prisons went on hunger strikes twice during the year, both times in protest of solitary confinement conditions. In October, nearly 12,000 California inmates claimed to be on a hunger strike, asking for the abolition of long-term solitary confinement and gang profiling (Lavender, 2011).

In November, 2011, over 1,000 inmates in India’s West Bengal prison went on a collective hunger strike, demanding speedier trials after some of them had spent as long as five years awaiting trial (Bhattasali, 2011).

In a political context, fasting for change has been a powerful tool used by a wide variety of populations. In November 2011, the All Government Teachers’ Association (AGTA) in Pakistan went on a hunger strike after their contract negotiations stalled over issues such as restructuring teachers’ time scale and compensation (Daily Times, 2011).

In November, 2011, a Romanian mayor went on a hunger strike to protest against cuts in heating subsidies imposed under a government austerity drive (Patran, 2011). The mayor, Florin Cazacu, said 10,000 residents in his central Romanian town of Brad were without heat because the town lacked over three million new lei (about $925,200) to buy fuel oil for the winter season.

Hunger striking has also been used by journalists to protest violations of freedom of speech. In October 2011, Venezuelan newspaper editor Leocenis Garcia was jailed after being accused of insulting public officials and instigating hatred after making negative comments about President Hugo Chavez (Toothaker, 2011). He went on a two week hunger strike demanding the charges be dropped.

In August, 2011, activist Anna Hazare held a 12-day hunger strike in Ramlila Maidan, Delhi to protest political corruption and pressure the Indian government to pass a proposed anti-corruption law. (BBC Mobile, 2011). In support of Hazare’s strike, tens of thousands of people attended protests across India.

In February, 2011, 34-year-old Swami Nigamanand went on a fast unto death to protest against illegal mining on the bank of the Ganga in Haridwar (NDTV, 2011). Nigamanand was declared dead the following June 13, after being on a hunger strike for 115 days.

Dick Gregory, a comedian and civil rights activist, has undergone several hunger strikes as part of his activism. In 1979, Gregory spoke out against the U.S. Embassy Hostage Crisis in Iran. A year later, he traveled to Tehran to attempt to negotiate the hostages' release and engaged in a public hunger strike there, weighing less than 100 pounds when he returned to the U.S. (World News, 2011). In October, 2010, Gregory began what he said would be a year-long hunger strike to protest against the death penalty. His dissent focused on the recent execution of Troy Davis, convicted for the 1989 killing of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail—a crime which Davis had always maintained he did not commit (Goodman, 2011).